"Idiot!"
Static filled the silent surroundings and momentarily broke the
tension that had been steadily building its way up. I could hear a
flick, must have been some kind of switch, and then a brief period of
peace before the voices filled my head again like a babbling brook.

The
headache was unbearable, like a thousand hammers pounding away on my
skull. I closed my eyes and massaged my forehead. But it refused to
go away.

The
voices grew louder.

Damn!
Shouldn't have tried to do…Some
were angry, like this one was. Angry for bringing this upon
themselves.

Others
were like lost little lambs. This
place…I…what happened…

What
will my children do now? Without me…Will Robert remember to take
care of them? To scare away the bad dreams and help out with the
kids' homework? I miss them so much…A
mother's worries.

Huh.
Or,
as that one-word comment suggested, simply neutral.

Aside
from that, there were also the spoken words. It was hard to keep up
with both of them all at once. But beside me, the girl I'd found
was still quiet as she had arrived, save for that ear-shattering
scream. I tried to focus on her, make conversation, my only way of
escaping the traffic that had erupted in my head.

"What's
your name?" I asked her gently, not wanting to scare her. She had
contorted herself in such a way that she looked like a turtle poking
its head out of its shell to see whether or not the coast was clear.

She
turned her head to look at me. "Maxine Belwick. Eighteen years
old." My
throat is dry. She
swallowed. "I…Why are you…being so nice?"

"Because
I am
nice,"
I told her. "Well…that's what I'd like to believe."

A
smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She opened her mouth to say
more, probably her life's story, but there was a crackle and a
voice working hard to sound enthusiastic came on. "Sorry, people!
Oh, I meant Souls."
There was a high-pitched giggle, but none of us looked amused. Stupid
Althea, her
thoughts grumbled. "Welcome to the Deadlock!"

A
pause, possibly waiting for us to respond. Instead, we looked blankly
at one another. The
Deadlock? Sounded
like a wrestling match, except for the added bonus of making us feel
sentimental because of the word "Dead." Made especially for us.
How thoughtful of them.

When
no response whatsoever seemed forthcoming, there was an embarrassed
clearing of the throat, and then a rustle. "Oh, for goodness'
sake," said an impatient voice. "They have just arrived. You
can't expect them to know about this."

"Are
you angry at me?"
The peppy voice inquired, shocked. Though it didn't sound so peppy
right now.

A
sigh. Blond
stereotypes! Don't know why she's even a Reaper, can't even do
her job properly. "Move
aside," the other person brusquely ordered.

Why
should I do what she
says?
Blond Stereotype was indignant. There was a yelp. Seems like her
resolve didn't go too far.

"A
warm greeting to the Souls in the vicinity," Althea began. "As
earlier stated, you are now players entered in the game of Deadlock."
Wonder
what the quota is this year?

I
wanted to probe deeper on that, but she continued on. "The
Deadlock's objectives are simple. Once you are a Player, or if you
wish to be a Player, you pay with your most prized possession. For
all of you gathered here, in this Final Stop, that prized possession
was your life. In the minute immediately after the signal is given,
you must form a pact with two other Souls. Those who are not able to
do this will be subsequently Suspended and given a Choice: Transcend
to a higher plane of existence and be a Reaper, or face the Elders.
You will then have twenty minutes to reach the Landing Stage in order
to transfer to the Real World, where the Deadlock takes place. A
warning: No one will see you, but they can feel
your
Presence, and they will also be affected by the powers you were given
upon arrival. No power is the same, and can only be used for this
game."

"I
have powers?! Neat!" Someone exclaimed from a distance,
interrupting the announcement. The grin faded from his face when we
looked at him. Oh,
right. I'm dead now,
he realized.

Althea
sniffed. This
place is full of idiots. "Complete
all three tasks within the time limit given for each. The winner will
be the last surviving Pact or, if there are more than one, then the
first to reach the Last Destination." She stopped. Her thoughts
were drowned out by all the others', I couldn't pick it out.

"The
prize is a Revival of Lives for that Pact. You will return amongst
the Living."

And
suddenly, everyone couldn't breathe. This was the ultimate prize.
It meant going back to what once was, if only they could win.

I
wanted
to go back and hunt down my killer. Demand why he or she did this to
me.

"One
last thing. Death Mask is looking over you."

Death
Mask? Who was that?

There
was a buzz of noise, and then I felt a spark of vibration. My hand
was suddenly wearing an inky-black bracelet gilded with silver. As I
watched, glowing purple letters flashed from the blank background,
ticking down the seconds. 5…4…3…2…1…

Beep.
Beep. Beep.

The
'1'
blinked on and off. I stared at it, completely oblivious to
everything else, the gasps, the baffled reactions…

Okay,
so maybe I wasn't as oblivious as I'd thought.

The
'1'
froze in place for a very long time. And then it disappeared and
changed.

GO.

A
panel descended down out of nowhere, numbers in red visible from
here. 59:45.

The
minute had begun.

I
immediately grabbed the arm of the girl beside me. "Maxine, right?
Would you please form a Pact with me?" I asked her urgently.
Please,
say yes.

She
nodded. Behind us, there was the sound of running feet. "Come on,"
she said, speaking normally. "Let's find another."

A
hand shot out to grab my shoulder. I reflexively twisted around and
found myself looking at a young man with thick dark hair and green
eyes. He seemed out of breath. "Another one's here. Will you make
a Pact with me?"

I
glanced at Maxine. She squeezed my hand, conveying her assent.

There
was a sudden burst of smoke near us, and a figure appeared amidst it.
His face was shadowed, and he wore a long red cloak tied with a gold
cord. Tattoos ran along his arms. "Pact confirmed," he intoned.

I
looked at the panel. 10 seconds left. When I looked back down, I was
wearing a shirt, shorts, and running shoes. Maxine was in a similar
get-up, while the mystery guy was dressed in pants instead of shorts.

0
seconds. Cages suddenly fell from overhead, trapping those that had
not formed a Pact in time. Their shrieks filled the air as they were
lifted upwards. Maxine, who had not let go of me yet, tightened her
grip.

The
figure clicked his fingers and produced a flame, a dragon's head
rearing out of it. Then it shot out from his fingers and touched my
hand, creating a tattoo of a dragon along my arm. My companions were
given similar ones. And then the dull outlines sparked and were
replaced by vivid red and gold hues.

"You
must find the Landing Stage. The only clue I can give you is that it
is found in the direction where the dragon yearns to go." Before we
could stop him, clarify some things, he disappeared.

Maxine
gulped as the panel switched to twenty minutes. "Where does the
dragon want to go?" She sounded panicked. "O, Dragon, please tell
us---"she began, talking to her tattoo.

"Come
on,"
the guy hissed, grabbing our hands and tugging us along, breaking out
into a run as the other Pacts surged all around us, heading for
different directions.

"How
do you know where to go?" I yelled above the none-too-quiet shouts
and arguments.

"Remember
what the guy said? That we should head for wherever the dragon yearns
to go?" he called to me over his shoulder.

"Yeah.
But I don't see anything special about it."

"Look
at your tattoo. The eyes," he instructed.

Automatically,
Maxine and I scanned the finely-drawn eyes of the dragon. "I don't
see---Oh!"

Upon
closer inspection, the eyes were not just dark random lines. It was a
repeating chain of words: Head
West.

"How
do we know this is West?" Maxine asked, panting a little.

I
could see the guy's grin. "Didn't you see the panel earlier? At
the very top, there was a cross with four arrows. With labels."

I
shook my head. "Glad I didn't turn you down," I commented.

"You
didn't have much choice anyway," he replied.

We
poured on the speed as a platform to a row of glass-paneled domes
came into view. We had about ten minutes left. Plenty of time.

That
is, before we were stopped short at the sight of wicked red creatures
rising up from the ground.

"What
are these things?!"

Before
I could try to stop them or at least read what they were thinking,
three of them circled Maxine. She shrieked and jumped up and down,
flailing to keep them away. Mystery Guy's eyebrows pulled together
in concentration.

Out
of nowhere came sound waves that hurt my ears---and the creatures.
They clapped their hands over pointed ears, and we quickly ran to a
glass dome. The doors slid open and we stumbled inside, hearing it
whir closed. Words were illuminated on a screen.